Accidental Feelings
by YukiSukinomoto
Summary: Dasey. When Derek and Casey are in an accident, Casey's condition causes Derek to think over their relationship. Will Casey pull out of it? And if she does, will she and Derek be able to overcome the awkwardness caused by the accident?


1Author's beginning notes: Yes. I finally gave in to doing LwD fanfiction. Damn you all for getting me involved. But yeah, I'm a real 'Dasey' fan (when did we start doing what the stars do?); I think they're just the perfect head bashing couple. So here's my first attempt at a Life with Derek fanfic, forgive me if I get anything wrong and feel free to give some _constructive _criticism

**Disclaimer: No, I own nothing. Depressing, I know but. It's not my fault, I'm just too poor to purchase a network.**

Casey let out a small groan as she tapped her pencil against the edge of her paper. She was sitting at the desk in her room, trying to finish her project for school. Yes, it was Friday, but the school year was almost over and she wanted to end it well. Next year, she and Derek would be seniors; she had to make sure she proved herself so colleges would accept her. She'd already made a color coded list of her college choices, colored by difficulty, classes she wanted, and prestige. Casey was always one to make sure she had things perfectly laid out. The slight tapping stopped as she glanced back towards the door. She heard shuffling feet; Derek had come home from hanging out with Sam.

Derek's door slammed shut and Casey sighed, shaking her head lightly. It was nice that they weren't fighting as much. Of course that didn't mean Derek wasn't still trying to piss her off here and there. He continued pulling pranks, but Casey was finding it easier to laugh off later on. With the help of Paul, her school 'counselor', she was slowly beginning to loosen up. That didn't mean, of course, she would take it lying down. She was no doormat for Derek's entertainment. A knock sounded at her door, snapping Casey from her reverie. "Yes?" She asked, turning and sitting up. It was her mother, Nora, who stepped in with a smile.

"Casey, I need you to do me a favor." She said lightly as she closed the door behind her. Casey appraised her mother slowly. She was talking a little too quietly for normality. "I know, I know, don't give me that look... I need you to go to the mall tomorrow and get my anniversary present for George... He's been breathing down my neck trying to figure out what it is and I want it to be a surprise... Derek has hockey practice, so he'll have the car but I'll ask him to drop you off and get you later on, okay honey?" Casey smiled and nodded.

She really didn't have the ability to turn down her pleading mother. It was kind of cute, now that she got used to it. "All right. Just give me the check and tell me where to go and I will." Casey said, "I'll finish my project tonight so I won't have to worry about it later."

"Oh, thank you Casey!" Her mother called. A moment later, George's voice sounded from downstairs. Nora rolled her eyes and grinned to Casey, "See? He's still trying to get it out of me." She chuckled before turning and heading out the door. She stopped in the doorway and looked back to Casey, "I'll give you the details later. Love you, honey."

Casey grinned and nodded, staring up to her mother, "Love you mom." She turned back to her project diligently. Now she _had _to finish it. She sighed, "What is the purpose of separating state from religion?" She recited to herself. After five minutes of blank and mindless stares out the window, Casey finally stood up and headed downstairs. There was no way she could think without caffeine right now.

Derek groaned and flopped onto his bed. Nora had just come in and asked him to drive Casey to the mall on Saturday. Tomorrow. Which was in the complete opposite direction from his hockey practice. Of course, when he pointed that out, Nora suggested Casey drive him to practice and drop him off. No way in hell was he going to let that happen. So he had reluctantly agreed to help out. Yeah, he didn't mind helping his step mother get a present for his dad but he really didn't want to deal with Casey's lecturing. True, she had toned down but that wasn't always good for him. He enjoyed ticking her off, and with her more laid back attitude he didn't always get the rise he wanted. Of course he knew they still hated each other. That was the way of step siblings. They really had no other choice in the end.

He rolled over as Casey's door opened and peeked to his own. Maybe he could relax a little by pissing her off. Ah, it was worth a shot anyways. He hopped out of bed, not bothering to change out of his sweaty clothes. Without second thought, he ran out of his room and past Casey on the stairs, 'accidentally' slamming his shoulder against hers as he did. "_Derek!_" He smirked as she yelled at him; the way she over-annunciated the last syllable was always amusing. "God, watch where you're going!"

Derek only smirked and continued on into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. Hey, he might as well get a drink while he was downstairs... and a snack, a snack would be good. So he grabbed all the makings of a sandwich: salami, turkey, roast beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pepper... ah, and bacon. He couldn't forget the bacon. "What's up your ass?" He questioned as Casey entered the kitchen after him, pushing him aside to get into the fridge.

"Maybe the fact that you almost pushed me down the stairs to my death?" She guessed, turning and glaring to him.

"Ah, if only I was so lucky."

Casey rolled her eyes and grabbed a can of ginger ale, pulling back and staring at him, "Oh please, I know you don't even mean that. Get new material Derek." Derek scowled and leaned back against the counter. That was getting annoying, when she could just brush it off. Little did he know that she was trying her very hardest not to unleash it all on him. "Maybe its time to grow up..." She said quietly before turning and walking back up the stairs.

"As if I'd ever let that happen..." Derek muttered, staring after her until she was out of sight. Damn it... only Casey could get him feeling like that, so riled up like he just needed to release energy somehow.

LwD

The next day, Derek woke up groggily and glared at his clock. Why the heck did he have to wake up so early? It was only noon for god's sake! He shook his hand an pushed a hand back through his hair, sitting up in his bed. He glanced around his room. Clothes everywhere... ah, there was his jersey. As his mind became slightly clearer, he groaned again. "Damn it, Casey's the reason... I have to get up an hour earlier just so I can get her to the freaking mall..." He hissed and stood up, stretching, then grabbed his jersey and changed quickly, tossing everything he needed into his gym bag. When he trudged downstairs, he was greeted by an impatient Casey tapping her foot. "Calm down, Case," He grumbled, moving to the kitchen. He dropped his gym bag carelessly on the floor and grabbed the milk out of the fridge, drinking from the carton quickly. He heard her scoff of disgust but only smirked into the milk as he continued. There was the Casey he loved to taunt.

"Hurry up Derek. I need to get to the mall so I can find what mom wanted." Casey ordered, staring to him. "And the sooner we go, the sooner we can bid each other adieu."

"Uh huh... I know we hate each other Casey, but really, you need to cool it a bit. I can't drive when I'm not awake, and I'm not letting you drive, so just deal with it." Derek dead panned, staring to his stepsister. "We'll leave in a couple of minutes... and Nora said she needs me to pick you up afterwards too. So... I'll come around five after hockey practice, okay?" He could have tossed in an insult or a warning, but his mind wasn't working at full capacity that morning.

So a half an hour later, Derek and Casey were finally on their way to the Mall. Casey's hands were covering her ears in attempts to ward off a headache from Derek blasting his music. She wondered what it sounded like; she couldn't really make it out when it sounded like the speakers were breaking. She was more than happy to jump out of the car when Derek pulled up to the mall. "Five, right?" She asked, looking to him. He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she had said. She rolled her eyes and leaned in, yelling over the music. "I'll see you at five, right?!"

He nodded and glanced to her, giving her a clear 'get the hell out of my car' look. The moment she pulled out and shut the door, he sped off towards practice. She rolled her eyes and sighed, watching him drive off. One of these days, she knew he was going to get himself killed. Oh well, that would be his own fault then. She sighed and turned, heading into the mall to look for the store she needed to go to. She had so much time to waste but really didn't see the point in blowing all of her saved up money on this one trip. She'd look around though.

LwD

Four hours passed and Casey could be found waiting in front of the mall, bag clutched to her chest as she sat on the stair railing. She swung her legs as she looked to her feet. What was she doing? She knew Derek wouldn't be there early. In fact, he'd probably be late. Still, she couldn't help old habits. Her eyes scanned the parking lot, just in case. Nope, no sign of him. She sighed and hopped off of the railing, turning and starting to head inside. She stopped dead at the sight of Max and Kendra heading out.

They had started going out after Casey and he broke up. It had been quite a while but it still stung seeing her best friend with her ex. Still, she sucked it up and smiled, waving to them. "Hey Max! Hey Kendra!" She called out. Kendra smiled happily and let go of Max's hand, running towards her friend.

"Casey, what are you doing at the mall all by yourself?" She asked with a grin, "If you were shopping, you should have called me or Emily." Casey smiled and shook her head, glancing to Max as he walked up slowly to meet them.

"No, it's okay Kendra. I'm just here to get my mom's present to George. He wouldn't stop snooping so she needed me to do it." Casey explained, keeping her eyes focused on Kendra. She felt guilty, acting so oddly towards Max but she found that she couldn't help it.

Kendra nodded knowingly, "Yeah, I hate when parents do that... but hey, at least you don't get it all the time right?" She blinked and looked Casey over, "Hey, do you need a ride home or something? Max and I can drop you off." Max looked down the moment Kendra said it and Casey got the feeling he was even less comfortable about this than she was.

So she shook her head no and smiled lightly, "It's okay Kendra. I don't want to intrude, and besides, Derek is getting me in a few minutes. Mom made him." Kendra nodded and shrugged lightly, starting to say something. For once, Casey was happy that Derek interrupted one of her conversations. His music was so loud it was vibrating the car as he pulled up. "Ah, there he is. I'll see you guys later. Bye!" She chirped, quickly moving into the car before either could get a word out. She looked to Derek and raised an eyebrow. "Go." She mouthed, not bothering to try and be heard over the music.

But he seemed more than happy to get out of there fast, not wanting to deal with an ex. Kendra and Derek had gone out for a while before he royally screwed up and cheated on her. Casey had been angry at the time, but soon realized that it wasn't meant to be. Kendra was happier now, even if it was with her ex. Finally, Casey leaned forward and turned off the stereo. "Hey, what was that for?" Derek demanded, glaring at Casey before looking back to the road.

"Lets see... I think it's because I wanted to be able to hear after this ride was over." Casey said, staring straight ahead. "Just a few minutes, I'm practically begging here Derek." She muttered, pulling her seatbelt on before bringing her legs up onto the seat. She held them to her chest and stared out her side window then. "Hey Derek...?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I thought the point of this was to have no noise."

"Shut up." She said, snapping and staring at him. "I want to talk about something."

Derek rolled his eyes and nodded, "Fine... go ahead and talk, but if you lecture I'm going to throw you out of the car and tell Nora that you had a suicidal moment and I did everything I could to stop you."

Casey sighed and shook her head, steeling herself before she began. "Derek, this morning... well, afternoon..." she gave him a pointed look, which was wasted as he continued to stare forwards. "You said we hate each other. Do you really think I hate you?" She asked, glancing away. "I mean, I know we have fights and crap but it's not like I really... well, I don't hate you. In fact, I kind of like you." It hadn't really meant anything, but it got Derek's attention.

"What?!" He demanded, slamming his foot on the brake on accident out of pure terror.

"Derek! Look out!" Casey cried out. All Derek saw after that was a bright light followed by consuming darkness.

LwD

When he awoke, Derek felt groggy. Just like any morning really... His head was killing him though. "Oh god... oh, he's awake George!" He heard Nora's voice. Had he forgotten to do a chore or something? He'd never heard her so excited about him waking up unless they had news or chores or... something. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times until they adjusted properly. This was definitely not his room... everything was white and clean. There were no clothes on the floor... and Nora and his dad were standing over him. Before he could get a word out, Nora flung her arms around him and held him tightly against herself. "We were so worried!" She said softly.

Derek blinked, trying to think. Why the hell would they be worried? He shook his head gently, then hissed. It burned when he moved like that...And suddenly everything came crashing back. He remembered being in the car and then... the searing pain and blacking out. And Casey screaming... He blinked and stared up to his dad. "Dad, where's Casey?" He asked. He didn't think it could be possible, but his father's face paled even more. Nora pulled back and looked to George before the two looked at Derek silently as if trying to judge the best way to say it. "Nora, where is Casey? Is... is she in the waiting room or... what's going on?"

"Sweety..." Nora said softly, her eyes watering up. She was trying so hard not to let them fall, but she failed as she began to cry. She stood from the bed and hurried into the bathroom so Derek wouldn't have to see. It was George's turn to speak.

"Casey... hasn't woken up yet." He said slowly. "They don't know if she will... she was pretty damaged after the accident, Derek. She broke her left arm and both of her legs and her head... her head was so banged up. They only let us see her once after her initial surgery. They're trying to figure out what to do next." Derek's heart stilled as he realized what was really going on.

"Dad... was this all my-"

But George shook his head quickly, "No, Derek. It was a drunk driver. Don't blame yourself. Casey... she may not be okay now but she'll get better, you'll see. She'll wake up eventually. They say she's in a coma but... they said not to give up hope yet. They're going to keep us updated and everything." Derek shook his head, pushing the pain away angrily. How could he have done this?

LwD

And so ends the prologue of my first Life with Derek fan fiction. I hope it was okay so far... yes, it's very depressing... but that's the point in this case. I promise it will get better later, and I _promise _there will be Derek x Casey later on.

Please review! The more reviews I get, the more I'll be inclined to work on the next chapter.


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